


Forgotten Field Trip

by TearsOfPaper



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Ending, Aunts & Uncles, Family Dinner, Field Trip, Field Trip to SI, Game Night, Irondad, Peter Actually has an Internship, Two Endings, aunt nat, field trip to stark industries, spiderson, surprise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-11
Updated: 2020-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:06:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23108953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TearsOfPaper/pseuds/TearsOfPaper
Summary: Shuri and T'Challa are visiting Avengers' Tower over her birthday, and Peter wants everything to be perfect for their lab day - except he forgot that there was a field trip some of his classmates were going to be on that day. What could go wrong?
Comments: 1
Kudos: 349





	1. Ending #1: No Flash

**Author's Note:**

> There are two chapters that start out the same, the second one is the original ending I wrote.  
> This is a one-shot twist on the classic field trip trope - enjoy!

The bell rang, signaling the end of the school day, and Peter couldn’t get out fast enough – which was impressive for him. It was Friday, and Tony had dubbed Fridays ‘family dinner’ days. Not only that, but Aunt May had given Peter permission to stay at the tower on weekends, and Tony had invited Shuri and T’Challa over from Wakanda. Peter couldn’t wait to have lab time with Tony, Bruce, _and_ Shuri. The two teens had been texting for a week about their plans. Shuri had an idea on how to combine the vibranium kinetic energy technology she had developed for T’Challa’s latest Black Panther suit with Peter’s web. Peter had seen how T’Challa absorbed every blow rained upon him only to turn it into a weapon, and he couldn’t wait to have the same power.

Waving goodbye to Ned, Peter dashed down the street towards the apartment where he and May lived. He threw his school bag by his desk and rooted under his bed for the bags he had packed for the weekend at the tower. Ned constantly teased Peter about visiting his dad on the weekend while staying the week with his mom-figure. Peter always rolled his eyes. Mr. Stark wasn’t his dad, just his mentor. Such protests never made a difference in Ned’s teasing, though. Peter chuckled under his breath as he remembered Ned’s teasing that day, but it didn’t matter. Happy was going to pick him up soon, and he couldn’t wait.

The apartment elevator was slow as molasses, and Peter could have sworn it took fifteen minutes to take him from his floor to the ground, though in reality it wasn’t even one. Once he reached the ground floor, he tossed his bags behind the grungy chairs in the lobby and dashed out the door to look for Happy. He wasn’t there. Sighing, Peter looked around for something to do. A sports car whizzed around the corner to Peter’s delight. He skipped a step or two before speeding up to a run beside the car as it sped its way through the neighborhood streets. Sirens behind them caught both Peter and the driver off guard. When they looked back, the driver sighed and pulled over before catching a glimpse of Peter bolting off in a dead sprint. He couldn’t be caught out of the suit going this fast.

Skidding to a stop in front of his apartment building ten minutes after he left, Peter looked around for Happy once again. A glance at his watch told him that it had only been twenty-seven minutes since school had let out. That meant another eighteen minutes to burn before Happy showed up. Peter groaned. Shuri was going to be at Avengers Tower before he was at this rate, and he had wanted to prep the labs for her arrival first.

Slumping to the ground, Peter looked up at the sky. It would be faster to put on his suit and swing himself and his bags to the tower. He frowned. Mr. Stark would have his head if he did that, and a mad Mr. Stark was terrifying. Natasha – Aunt Nat, he corrected himself, was probably the only person who would be more terrifying than Mr. Stark when mad. Nonetheless, the thought of swinging over was tempting. Just as the pros of going as Spider-Man started to outweigh the cons, Happy pulled up.

“Finally!”

Peter scrambled to his feet and into the apartment building. He grabbed his bags and ran back out. Happy had the trunk open for Peter to toss his luggage in, then they were off. Peter looked out the window with a grin on his face. They were on their way. He would prep the labs before dinner so Shuri could be surprised – which reminded him.

“Hey, Happy.”

“I’ve already told you, kid, call me Uncle Happy.”

Peter rolled his eyes. “Yeah, you all say stuff like that, but I don’t understand why.”

“Your friend does.” Happy grinned as he recalled overhearing Ned’s teasing the other week.

Peter groaned. “Whatever. What I was going to ask was who is cooking dinner tonight?”

“If you don’t have the rotation memorized by now, I’m not going to tell you.”

“No, I have it memorized. It’s just Mr. Stark’s turn, but he wouldn’t order take out when Shuri and T’Challa are coming.” He glanced at the roof of the car before whispering, “and you know how his cooking is.”

Happy nodded. “He traded weeks, but he wanted it to be a surprise.”

Peter hummed in dissatisfaction but sat back in his seat. He hoped it wasn’t Bruce. Bruce’s cooking was almost as bad as Mr. Stark’s. Clint’s cooking was pretty good, but that was probably because he had either Laura or Natasha cook for him. Peter blinked. Uncle Clint. Aunt Laura. Aunt Nat. Why was it so hard for him to remember?

His phone vibrated as they pulled up to Avengers Tower. Pulling up the text message string, Peter wandered into the building, forgetting his luggage.

_Hey kid_

_Visitors here 30 minutes before dinner_

_BE READY_

_DON’T FORGET_

_Have fun in lab_

_DON’T BLOW ANYTHING UP_

_Text if you need me_

_-TS_

Peter grinned and rolled his eyes.

_Got it Mr. Stark_

_You don’t have to sign your texts_

_I can see who you are_

_And FRIDAY saw that eye roll_

_-TS_

Peter rolled his eyes again and ran to the private labs without stopping by the penthouse, eager to prepare for the coming day. The sight that met his eyes was horrifying. Why did he have to be such a slob? Half-finished projects littered his area, and the mess was only accentuated by DUM-E’s attempts to clean. He groaned and got to work. It would be a miracle if he was done in time. Another buzz from his pocket got his attention.

_You left Happy to carry your bags_

_Fix it_

_-TS_

Peter was never going to get the lab clean in time. Nevertheless, he abandoned his projects once again to help Hap-Uncle Happy with the bags.

“What did you pack?” Happy asked when Peter skidded to a halt in front of the car.

“Same stuff as usual.”

Happy shrugged. “Okay, I guess I usually don’t take your bags in then.”

“Why do you say that?”

“It weighs as much as a baby elephant.”

Peter picked up his two bags and hefted them thoughtfully. “I don’t feel it.”

Happy sighed as Peter jogged back inside, luggage on his shoulder. That kid was something else.

After dropping his bags inside the penthouse door, getting yelled at by Ms. – no – Pepper, and taking them all the way to his room, Peter finally was free to return to the lab. He gathered up all his tools and put them away where they were supposed to go, swept up the useless scraps for the scrap bin, mopped the grease and scorch stains off the floor, and turned to his project collection. He needed some way to organize them. The Spiderman suits were easy – organize by Mark number and stick into their respective slots. The web fluid solutions were similarly arrayed. The hard part were the miscellaneous projects, such as the prototype for Cap’s new shield, Ned’s latest Lego set, and Peter’s most recent attempt at a present for MJ. Shrugging, Peter decided to put those in the extra slots in the corner.

Peter was just stepping back to admire his newly organized workspace when his phone buzzed again.

_I said 30 minutes BEFORE dinner_

_That was 10 minutes ago_

_Get up here_

_-TS_

Peter groaned. He was in for it now. Slowly, he put one foot in front of the other and trudged to the elevator. FRIDAY was eerily silent as he rode up to the penthouse. The numbers above the door ticked upwards steadily as if counting Peter’s anxiety level instead of the floors he was passing.

“FRIDAY?”

“Yes, Peter?”

“Am I the last one they are waiting on?”

The AI’s silence spoke volumes. Peter sighed. He was really in for it now. Mr. Stark was rather emphatic on his rules being obeyed and being obeyed promptly. However, Mr. Stark never punished Peter, he just got disappointed. That, in Peter’s opinion, was a million times worse. The way Mr. Stark would slowly close his eyes and take in a deep breath before sighing and furrowing his brow. Peter could never bring himself to look Mr. Stark in the eyes after the sigh. The look of utter disappointment was enough to break the teen should he look directly into his mentor’s gaze.

The elevator doors opened silently, and Peter stepped out, head down. The five steps to the door were like a prisoner walking into a courtroom knowing he would be condemned. His hand hovered over the knob, dreading its touch. Before he could muster the courage to enter, the door opened. Peter looked up, startled, to see Mr. Stark standing in front of him. The man smiled to relieve the teen’s fear.

“Hey Underoos. Glad you made it out of the lab-rinth.”

Peter groaned at the pun but smiled in relief at the lack of disappointment. Stepping inside the penthouse, he waved at Shuri. She grinned and scooted over to make room for Peter to sit beside her. T’Challa sighed as he did the same.

“Peter! I think I worked out the last of the kinks in our plans!”

“I just replenished all of my chemicals, so we are set to try this however many times it takes.”

Mr. Stark cleared his throat to interrupt. “So long as you don’t blow up the lab, we’re good.”

The two teens exchanged a sheepish look. The memories of their last experiment rose unbidden to their minds. It had taken two months – even with Peter’s super strength and Shuri’s super ingenuity – to scrub the floor and everything in the lab free of the stains they had inflicted. Peter rubbed his upper arm at the memory. Shuri sighed and put her hand on his. They grinned at the chuckles that rippled around the room, trying to hide their embarrassment. Luckily for them, Uncle Steve saved them.

“Dinner’s ready.”

Bucky huffed under his breath. “Finally.”

“Hey, I didn’t see you helping me, Barnes.”

“I did,” Bucky protested. “I helped you to laugh at yourself.”

“Alright, alright you two,” Mr. Stark interrupted. “You said dinner was ready.”

“Right this way.”

Peter and Shuri led the way to the table. They grabbed the food, filling their plates to heaping before everyone else even entered the room. A quiet word from Mr. Stark and a sharp look from T’Challa were enough to make the two kids sit and place their hands in their laps. The rest of the Avengers were polite enough to pretend not to notice, though many of them exchanged amused looks. Who knew Tony would turn out to be such a dad?

Aside from that, dinner passed without incident. Peter and Shuri sat together at one end of the table, ignoring all the adults with the occasional exception of Mr. Stark and Bruce. Steve, Bucky, and Sam sat at the other end of the table bickering good-naturedly. Clint, Nat, and Laura were trying to convince the mini archers to eat instead of starting a food fight. Laughter reigned supreme at the family table, something that carried on into the evening chats around the coffee table.

Peter, Shuri, Nat, and the archer kids played a game of Risk as the others took bets on who would win. Wanda refused to bet seriously because of her mental abilities, but put a dollar behind each of Clint’s kids as encouragement.

“All money betted against the winner goes to the winner,” Nat warned.

Shuri laughed. “Sounds like a plan. You ready to lose, spiders?”

Nat smirked. “In your dreams.”

Banter flowed as easily around the living room as the coffee. The kids were soon annihilated and clung to their Aunt Nat, cheering her on. The rest of the room, minus T’Challa and Mr. Stark, were also rooting for Nat. T’Challa groaned as Nat took out the last of Shuri’s troops. Mr. Stark grimaced as Peter was pushed further and further back until he occupied only Australia. Indonesia traded hands every round for seven rounds until Peter burst from his confinement. Within two turns he had conquered Asia. Three gained him footholds in Africa, Europe, and North America. Ten turns later, the spider-boy had Nat trapped in Argentina.

“Surrender, Aunt Nat?”

“Never.”

Peter shrugged and rolled the dice. Nat narrowed her eyes and did the same. White five. White three. Red four. Red four. Red one. Removing one of her last five men, Nat rolled again. Two ones. With two men left, Nat rolled a six and a two while Peter rolled a five and a three. Nat glared at her last man, silently daring him to fall. The room was silent as Peter made his last call.

“Brazil to Argentina, again.”

White five.

Red six.

The room erupted into chaos. Mr. Stark, as the only person who backed Peter, cheered and rubbed it in everyone’s faces. T’Challa, having had time to reconcile with Shuri’s loss, gave Peter the twenty he had bet with a smile. The rest of the team was in shock. Nat had been unbeatable in Risk. She was the expert strategist. How had she lost to the spider-kid?

“Wanna play chess next time, Aunt Nat?”

Nat chuckled. “Sure. Maybe I can knock your ego down a rung or two.” She shook his hand. “Good game, Pete.”

Slowly, while still grumbling, those who had lost their bets handed over their money to Peter. Steve clapped a hand on the kid’s back.

“I’m impressed. Next time I may have to bet on you.”

“True,” said Clint, “but next time it will have to be. It’s time to get my kidlets to bed.”

Goodnights were said all around as the Avengers each went to their own floors. Soon everyone was bedded down for the night, sleep following close behind. Except for Peter. He dozed restlessly, planning the lab activities when he was awake and dreaming of all the ways it could go wrong when he fell into a fitful slumber.

Regardless of how well or how much he had slept, when the sun rose, Peter was up. He threw on a ratty t-shirt with a science pun on it and stumbled down to the labs. After telling FRIDAY to start the three coffee pots brewing, he double-checked his area. Everything had to be perfect. Shuri hadn’t been to the labs in Avengers Tower in ages, and her labs in Wakanda were immeasurably better. Peter knew deep down that he couldn’t hope to compete with Shuri’s labs, but he was determined to do his best to make it as close as possible.

“Kid, what on earth are you doing down here at a quarter to six?”

Peter looked up from his deep cleaning of the soot-stained floors to see Mr. Stark standing in the doorway, rumpled hair, bleary-eyed, and wearing Mickey Mouse pants and a Spider-Man shirt. Flushed with embarrassment – NOT at the shirt Mr. Stark was wearing – Peter looked down again.

“Cleaning,” he mumbled.

“Sorry, Underoos, but you gotta speak up. I got morning ears.”

Peter looked back at his mentor’s face. “Do you know how sophisticated Shuri’s labs are? Do you know how much beyond ours they are?”

“Kid-”

“Do you know all the things she designs, makes, and tests in her labs? Do you know how many people she’s helped?”

“Underoos-”

“Do you know how often she is in her labs? How much they are used?”

“Pete-”

“And her labs are always spotless. Always! Immaculate!”

“Peter!”

The teen’s jaw snapped shut, his eyes widening. His muscles tensed as he shrank under Mr. Stark’s gaze. The man sighed and crouched down, arms resting on his knees.

“Pete, listen to me.” Mr. Stark gently moved a hand slightly closer to the boy. “You don’t have to over analyze this. You’re getting all worked up about something that I guarantee is not as big a deal as you think it is.”

Peter trembled a little, his mouth opening and closing without anything coming out. Mr. Stark gingerly placed his hand on top of Peter’s, removing the scrubbing brush from the teen’s grip.

“Shuri has been down here before, remember? She made a bigger mess than you, me, and Bruce combined.”

Peter chuckled slightly, a tear streaking down his cheek. Mr. Stark sat on the floor beside the kid and wrapped and arm around him.

“Do you remember when she was trying to make a vibranium-platinum alloy and melted the Mark LXXIV?”

Peter nodded. “I just wanted everything to be perfect.” He leaned into Mr. Stark’s shoulder. “She came here voluntarily over her birthday, and even though I know she doesn’t want to make a big deal about it, I wanted something to be special.”

Tony froze. Shuri’s birthday was happening while they were in the Tower? How had he not known? The girl had done so much for himself and for Peter, there was no way on earth that he was going to let her special day go unnoticed.

“Her birthday?”

“Yeah, it’s today. She wanted to spend it in the labs, so I wanted to make the labs special.”

Tony rubbed his face with his free hand. He needed to think of something to do for the girl genius. But first, he needed coffee.

“Okay, kiddo. I’m going to pour myself some coffee, then I can help you with the lab purge – and keep you from going overboard.”

“Wh-wh-wha-wh-wh-wha-wh-what?” Peter spluttered. “I wasn’t going overboard!”

“Says the guy who was scrubbing the permanently stained floors with a toothbrush.”

“It wasn’t a toothbrush.”

Mr. Stark raised his eyebrow. “Might as well have been with the way you were scrubbing with it.” He mimed going over an infinitesimally small area until Peter threw the brush at his head.

“Get your coffee and leave me be.”

Mr. Stark raised his hands in surrender and walked over to his red coffee pot. Pulling the pot out and taking off the lid, he returned to where Peter was sitting and took a drink.

“So, Pete, where are we going to start?”

“Giving me my coffee pot?”

“No way, Underoos. You get one cup. One.”

“Half a pot?”

“Half a cup?”

Peter sighed. “One cup.”

Mr. Stark nodded and smirked as Peter poured more creamer into his cup than coffee. The teen chugged for a few seconds until Mr. Stark looked away, then Pete poured another splash of coffee into his cup. Mr. Stark laughed quietly at the sound, but said nothing. The two began to work in a comfortable silence, preparing the labs for the imminent arrival of the princess of Wakanda.

“What on earth is going on down here?”

Peter looked up from where he was polishing the tabletop to see Bruce standing in the doorway in confusion. Rubbing the back of his neck, Peter tried to explain, but only succeeded in stuttering out nonsense. Bruce raised an eyebrow at the tongue-tied kid until Mr. Stark stepped in.

“Shuri’s birthday is today. The kid just wanted to have the labs clean for her.”

Bruce raised both his eyebrows at Tony. The man practically volunteered to parent every person without a father, and he was going to let the girl off without making a big deal over her birthday? Bruce didn’t believe it.

Tony, seeing the doubt behind Bruce’s eyes, narrowed his gaze in a warning. “Pete said she didn’t want to make a big deal about it.”

Aka, Tony couldn’t say anything about his plans in front of Peter.

Bruce rolled his eyes. Tony was being overly dramatic, as always. Bruce just shrugged it off and moved on to the coffee.

“Whatever. It’s almost eight, and if I remember right, Shuri said that was when she’d be down.”

“What!”

Bruce and Mr. Stark watched in amusement as Peter started running around the labs, desperately trying to finish cleaning the room and pick up after himself at the same time.

“Princess Shuri is on her way.”

Peter squawked at FRIDAY’s warning.

“Ten seconds until her arrival.”

“Five.”

“Four.”

“Three.”

“Two.”

“One.”

The elevator doors dinged and opened as Pete skidded to a halt beside his workbench, casually leaning against it as if he wasn’t out of breath. Shuri stepped out of the elevator and looked straight at Peter, smirking at his heaving chest.

“Been doing some exercises, Parker?”

Peter spluttered, trying to offer up some form of an excuse until Mr. Stark stepped in.

“Coffee, Shuri?”

“No thanks. I have enough energy from my ideas. Speaking of…” she walked over to Peter talking non-stop about her plans for integrating her kinetic absorption technology into Peter’s webs.

Mr. Stark smiled until he heard exactly what they were talking about. “Won’t that be difficult if not impossible? We are talking about his webs, right? That’s a strand, not a suit or some such thing.”

“Exactly.” Shuri grinned. “That’s why we’re developing a new type of web that will encase the victim before releasing the energy inside of the web cocoon.”

Peter was bouncing on the balls of his feet. “It’s going to be so cool!”

The two teens turned back to their work as Tony and Bruce exchanged knowing smiles. The energy of a new idea had been known to sweep the two older scientists away from time to time, and it was refreshing to see a new generation as eager to learn, test, and build as they were. Tony just prayed that Pete and Shuri would never have a failure as big as Ultron was for himself and Bruce, but mostly himself.

Another couple of hours went by in a blur of excitement until the teens’ new toy was ready for testing. Peter finished programming the chemical formula into his web shooters as Shuri prepared the test dummy.

“Alright, Pete!” Shuri cried, stepping a safe distance away from the target. “Ready, aim, FIRE!”

Peter shot the new web combo at the dummy with a half-jump back.

THWIP

The web fully left the shooter and expanded into a net in midair. The net whistled until it hit the target, wrapping itself around the dense, platinum figure. Glowing purple at impact, the web shuddered as it released the energy it had accumulated into the figure. Shuri stepped forward, gently unwrapping the semi-sticky web to reveal the test dummy.

The dummy was one of the ones that was designed to survive anything but one of Tony’s repulsor blasts. After the energy pulse, its head had completely caved in, along with all of its limbs. The torso was crumpled and majorly dented. To say the occupants of the lab were shocked would be an understatement. Particularly since a tour group had entered just as the test was about to begin.

Peter, unaware of the high school field trip group that was staring at him from the doorway, ran over to Shuri. “So, I think we need to make a less lethal combination. That one was definitely a keeper, but I would prefer to not have everyone hit with this end up dead.”

Shuri nodded and was about to reply when she saw the open mouths behind Peter. “Hey, Pete? We’ve got an audience.”

“Who? Mrs. Stark? Cap? Nat? Oh, please tell me it’s Nat. That would be so awesome. I bet it’s Mrs. Stark, though. Probably lunch time by now.”

Shuri just nodded her head towards the door. Peter glanced over his shoulder only to do a double take. There in the door way was everyone from his class except for the decathlon team regulars. Which meant-

“What are you doing here, Mr. Parker?”

Peter sighed. Of course his teacher would ask. How had he forgotten that this field trip was today?

“I have an internship here, Mr. Evans. The one Flash constantly doubts? It’s real.”

“Hey, Pete,” Mr. Stark interrupted. “Who are these people?”

“This is my class. Well, those who aren’t on the decathlon team. The decathlon team takes a lot of field trips, so they arranged one for everyone else.” Peter gestured back and forth between his class and his mentor. “Guys, this is Mr. Stark, in case you couldn’t tell. Also, this is Dr. Bruce Banner and Princess Shuri of Wakanda.”

Mr. Stark smiled as the other two nodded. “So, I’m sure you’re all brimming with questions. We shall answer,” he thought for a moment before continuing, “five questions before you must continue with your tour and allow us to continue with our work.”

Hands flew in the air, and Mr. Stark nodded at Peter, allowing the teen to take the reins. Peter smiled at Mr. Stark before pointing at someone in the back.

“How often do you come to the tower?”

Peter shrugged. “Depends on the week. Most weekends I’m here, though there are some exceptions. Sometimes I come during the week, but that’s a little more limited.”

“What do you get to work on?”

“I’m usually helping with upgrading the Avengers’ gear, though I have plenty of time to work on my own pet projects as well.”

“Do you know the Avengers personally?”

“Sure do. They come down here fairly often to see what progress I’ve made.” Pete pointed at someone in the middle.

“Who’s your favorite Avenger?”

“I’d have to say Iron Man.” Peter made sure not to turn around, but he knew Mr. Stark would be beaming with pride.

“What were you working on when we came in?”

“Shuri and I are trying to upgrade Spider-Man’s tech by incorporating Wakandan tech into his gear.” Pete’s eyes lit up as he began to explain, though Mr. Stark’s hand on his shoulder soon reminded him that his class was bored by the technical stuff. “Basically, we’re making it so Spider-Man’s webs can release an energy pulse when wrapped around someone.”

Mr. Stark smoothly cut in. “Alright, everyone. That’s all for today. Enjoy the rest of your tour, and stay in school.”

The tour guide led the chattering class to the elevator as Peter turned back to Shuri.

“As I was saying, this needs to not kill everyone it’s used on.”

Shuri grinned as the two dove back into their formulas to work uninterrupted for the rest of the day – at least until the group was called up for lunch.


	2. Ending #2: Flash

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Same as before, only Flash is a part of the field trip group.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING:  
> -Suicidal Thoughts  
> -Intrusive Thoughts  
> -Verbal Abuse  
> -Mentions of Physical Abuse (no details)  
> -Depression

The bell rang, signaling the end of the school day, and Peter couldn’t get out fast enough – which was impressive for him. It was Friday, and Tony had dubbed Fridays ‘family dinner’ days. Not only that, but Aunt May had given Peter permission to stay at the tower on weekends, and Tony had invited Shuri and T’Challa over from Wakanda. Peter couldn’t wait to have lab time with Tony, Bruce, _and_ Shuri. The two teens had been texting for a week about their plans. Shuri had an idea on how to combine the vibranium kinetic energy technology she had developed for T’Challa’s latest Black Panther suit with Peter’s web. Peter had seen how T’Challa absorbed every blow rained upon him only to turn it into a weapon, and he couldn’t wait to have the same power.

Waving goodbye to Ned, Peter dashed down the street towards the apartment where he and May lived. He threw his school bag by his desk and rooted under his bed for the bags he had packed for the weekend at the tower. Ned constantly teased Peter about visiting his dad on the weekend while staying the week with his mom-figure. Peter always rolled his eyes. Mr. Stark wasn’t his dad, just his mentor. Such protests never made a difference in Ned’s teasing, though. Peter chuckled under his breath as he remembered Ned’s teasing that day, but it didn’t matter. Happy was going to pick him up soon, and he couldn’t wait.

The apartment elevator was slow as molasses, and Peter could have sworn it took fifteen minutes to take him from his floor to the ground, though in reality it wasn’t even one. Once he reached the ground floor, he tossed his bags behind the grungy chairs in the lobby and dashed out the door to look for Happy. He wasn’t there. Sighing, Peter looked around for something to do. A sports car whizzed around the corner to Peter’s delight. He skipped a step or two before speeding up to a run beside the car as it sped its way through the neighborhood streets. Sirens behind them caught both Peter and the driver off guard. When they looked back, the driver sighed and pulled over before catching a glimpse of Peter bolting off in a dead sprint. He couldn’t be caught out of the suit going this fast.

Skidding to a stop in front of his apartment building ten minutes after he left, Peter looked around for Happy once again. A glance at his watch told him that it had only been twenty-seven minutes since school had let out. That meant another eighteen minutes to burn before Happy showed up. Peter groaned. Shuri was going to be at Avengers Tower before he was at this rate, and he had wanted to prep the labs for her arrival first.

Slumping to the ground, Peter looked up at the sky. It would be faster to put on his suit and swing himself and his bags to the tower. He frowned. Mr. Stark would have his head if he did that, and a mad Mr. Stark was terrifying. Natasha – Aunt Nat, he corrected himself, was probably the only person who would be more terrifying than Mr. Stark when mad. Nonetheless, the thought of swinging over was tempting. Just as the pros of going as Spiderman started to outweigh the cons, Happy pulled up.

“Finally!”

Peter scrambled to his feet and into the apartment building. He grabbed his bags and ran back out. Happy had the trunk open for Peter to toss his luggage in, then they were off. Peter looked out the window with a grin on his face. They were on their way. He would prep the labs before dinner so Shuri could be surprised – which reminded him.

“Hey, Happy.”

“I’ve already told you, kid, call me Uncle Happy.”

Peter rolled his eyes. “Yeah, you all say stuff like that, but I don’t understand why.”

“Your friend does.” Happy grinned as he recalled overhearing Ned’s teasing the other week.

Peter groaned. “Whatever. What I was going to ask was who is cooking dinner tonight?”

“If you don’t have the rotation memorized by now, I’m not going to tell you.”

“No, I have it memorized. It’s just Mr. Stark’s turn, but he wouldn’t order take out when Shuri and T’Challa are coming.” He glanced at the roof of the car before whispering, “and you know how his cooking is.”

Happy nodded. “He traded weeks, but he wanted it to be a surprise.”

Peter hummed in dissatisfaction but sat back in his seat. He hoped it wasn’t Bruce. Bruce’s cooking was almost as bad as Mr. Stark’s. Clint’s cooking was pretty good, but that was probably because he had either Laura or Natasha cook for him. Peter blinked. Uncle Clint. Aunt Laura. Aunt Nat. Why was it so hard for him to remember?

His phone vibrated as they pulled up to Avengers Tower. Pulling up the text message string, Peter wandered into the building, forgetting his luggage.

_Hey kid_

_Visitors here 30 minutes before dinner_

_BE READY_

_DON’T FORGET_

_Have fun in lab_

_DON’T BLOW ANYTHING UP_

_Text if you need me_

_-TS_

Peter grinned and rolled his eyes.

_Got it Mr. Stark_

_You don’t have to sign your texts_

_I can see who you are_

_And FRIDAY saw that eye roll_

_-TS_

Peter rolled his eyes again and ran to the private labs without stopping by the penthouse, eager to prepare for the coming day. The sight that met his eyes was horrifying. Why did he have to be such a slob? Half-finished projects littered his area, and the mess was only accentuated by DUM-E’s attempts to clean. He groaned and got to work. It would be a miracle if he was done in time. Another buzz from his pocket got his attention.

_You left Happy to carry your bags_

_Fix it_

_-TS_

Peter was never going to get the lab clean in time. Nevertheless, he abandoned his projects once again to help Hap-Uncle Happy with the bags.

“What did you pack?” Happy asked when Peter skidded to a halt in front of the car.

“Same stuff as usual.”

Happy shrugged. “Okay, I guess I usually don’t take your bags in then.”

“Why do you say that?”

“It weighs as much as a baby elephant.”

Peter picked up his two bags and hefted them thoughtfully. “I don’t feel it.”

Happy sighed as Peter jogged back inside, luggage on his shoulder. That kid was something else.

After dropping his bags inside the penthouse door, getting yelled at by Ms. – no – Pepper, and taking them all the way to his room, Peter finally was free to return to the lab. He gathered up all his tools and put them away where they were supposed to go, swept up the useless scraps for the scrap bin, mopped the grease and scorch stains off the floor, and turned to his project collection. He needed some way to organize them. The Spiderman suits were easy – organize by Mark number and stick into their respective slots. The web fluid solutions were similarly arrayed. The hard part were the miscellaneous projects, such as the prototype for Cap’s new shield, Ned’s latest Lego set, and Peter’s most recent attempt at a present for MJ. Shrugging, Peter decided to put those in the extra slots in the corner.

Peter was just stepping back to admire his newly organized workspace when his phone buzzed again.

_I said 30 minutes BEFORE dinner_

_That was 10 minutes ago_

_Get up here_

_-TS_

Peter groaned. He was in for it now. Slowly, he put one foot in front of the other and trudged to the elevator. FRIDAY was eerily silent as he rode up to the penthouse. The numbers above the door ticked upwards steadily as if counting Peter’s anxiety level instead of the floors he was passing.

“FRIDAY?”

“Yes, Peter?”

“Am I the last one they are waiting on?”

The AI’s silence spoke volumes. Peter sighed. He was really in for it now. Mr. Stark was rather emphatic on his rules being obeyed and being obeyed promptly. However, Mr. Stark never punished Peter, he just got disappointed. That, in Peter’s opinion, was a million times worse. The way Mr. Stark would slowly close his eyes and take in a deep breath before sighing and furrowing his brow. Peter could never bring himself to look Mr. Stark in the eyes after the sigh. The look of utter disappointment was enough to break the teen should he look directly into his mentor’s gaze.

The elevator doors opened silently, and Peter stepped out, head down. The five steps to the door were like a prisoner walking into a courtroom knowing he would be condemned. His hand hovered over the knob, dreading its touch. Before he could muster the courage to enter, the door opened. Peter looked up, startled, to see Mr. Stark standing in front of him. The man smiled to relieve the teen’s fear.

“Hey Underoos. Glad you made it out of the lab-rinth.”

Peter groaned at the pun but smiled in relief at the lack of disappointment. Stepping inside the penthouse, he waved at Shuri. She grinned and scooted over to make room for Peter to sit beside her. T’Challa sighed as he did the same.

“Peter! I think I worked out the last of the kinks in our plans!”

“I just replenished all of my chemicals, so we are set to try this however many times it takes.”

Mr. Stark cleared his throat to interrupt. “So long as you don’t blow up the lab, we’re good.”

The two teens exchanged a sheepish look. The memories of their last experiment rose unbidden to their minds. It had taken two months – even with Peter’s super strength and Shuri’s super ingenuity – to scrub the floor and everything in the lab free of the stains they had inflicted. Peter rubbed his upper arm at the memory. Shuri sighed and put her hand on his. They grinned at the chuckles that rippled around the room, trying to hide their embarrassment. Luckily for them, Uncle Steve saved them.

“Dinner’s ready.”

Bucky huffed under his breath. “Finally.”

“Hey, I didn’t see you helping me, Barnes.”

“I did,” Bucky protested. “I helped you to laugh at yourself.”

“Alright, alright you two,” Mr. Stark interrupted. “You said dinner was ready.”

“Right this way.”

Peter and Shuri led the way to the table. They grabbed the food, filling their plates to heaping before everyone else even entered the room. A quiet word from Mr. Stark and a sharp look from T’Challa were enough to make the two kids sit and place their hands in their laps. The rest of the Avengers were polite enough to pretend not to notice, though many of them exchanged amused looks. Who knew Tony would turn out to be such a dad?

Aside from that, dinner passed without incident. Peter and Shuri sat together at one end of the table, ignoring all the adults with the occasional exception of Mr. Stark and Bruce. Steve, Bucky, and Sam sat at the other end of the table bickering good-naturedly. Clint, Nat, and Laura were trying to convince the mini archers to eat instead of starting a food fight. Laughter reigned supreme at the family table, something that carried on into the evening chats around the coffee table.

Peter, Shuri, Nat, and the archer kids played a game of Risk as the others took bets on who would win. Wanda refused to bet seriously because of her mental abilities, but put a dollar behind each of Clint’s kids as encouragement.

“All money betted against the winner goes to the winner,” Nat warned.

Shuri laughed. “Sounds like a plan. You ready to lose, spiders?”

Nat smirked. “In your dreams.”

Banter flowed as easily around the living room as the coffee. The kids were soon annihilated and clung to their Aunt Nat, cheering her on. The rest of the room, minus T’Challa and Mr. Stark, were also rooting for Nat. T’Challa groaned as Nat took out the last of Shuri’s troops. Mr. Stark grimaced as Peter was pushed further and further back until he occupied only Australia. Indonesia traded hands every round for seven rounds until Peter burst from his confinement. Within two turns he had conquered Asia. Three gained him footholds in Africa, Europe, and North America. Ten turns later, the spiderboy had Nat trapped in Argentina.

“Surrender, Aunt Nat?”

“Never.”

Peter shrugged and rolled the dice. Nat narrowed her eyes and did the same. White five. White three. Red four. Red four. Red one. Removing one of her last five men, Nat rolled again. Two ones. With two men left, Nat rolled a six and a two while Peter rolled a five and a three. Nat glared at her last man, silently daring him to fall. The room was silent as Peter made his last call.

“Brazil to Argentina, again.”

White five.

Red six.

The room erupted into chaos. Mr. Stark, as the only person who backed Peter, cheered and rubbed it in everyone’s faces. T’Challa, having had time to reconcile with Shuri’s loss, gave Peter the twenty he had bet with a smile. The rest of the team was in shock. Nat had been unbeatable in Risk. She was the expert strategist. How had she lost to the spiderkid?

“Wanna play chess next time, Aunt Nat?”

Nat chuckled. “Sure. Maybe I can knock your ego down a rung or two.” She shook his hand. “Good game, Pete.”

Slowly, while still grumbling, those who had lost their bets handed over their money to Peter. Steve clapped a hand on the kid’s back.

“I’m impressed. Next time I may have to bet on you.”

“True,” said Clint, “but next time it will have to be. It’s time to get my kidlets to bed.”

Goodnights were said all around as the Avengers each went to their own floors. Soon everyone was bedded down for the night, sleep following close behind. Except for Peter. He dozed restlessly, planning the lab activities when he was awake and dreaming of all the ways it could go wrong when he fell into a fitful slumber.

Regardless of how well or how much he had slept, when the sun rose, Peter was up. He threw on a ratty t-shirt with a science pun on it and stumbled down to the labs. After telling FRIDAY to start the three coffee pots brewing, he double-checked his area. Everything had to be perfect. Shuri hadn’t been to the labs in Avengers Tower in ages, and her labs in Wakanda were immeasurably better. Peter knew deep down that he couldn’t hope to compete with Shuri’s labs, but he was determined to do his best to make it as close as possible.

“Kid, what on earth are you doing down here at a quarter to six?”

Peter looked up from his deep cleaning of the soot-stained floors to see Mr. Stark standing in the doorway, rumpled hair, bleary-eyed, and wearing Mickey Mouse pants and a Spiderman shirt. Flushed with embarrassment – NOT at the shirt Mr. Stark was wearing – Peter looked down again.

“Cleaning,” he mumbled.

“Sorry, Underoos, but you gotta speak up. I got morning ears.”

Peter looked back at his mentor’s face. “Do you know how sophisticated Shuri’s labs are? Do you know how much beyond ours they are?”

“Kid-”

“Do you know all the things she designs, makes, and tests in her labs? Do you know how many people she’s helped?”

“Underoos-”

“Do you know how often she is in her labs? How much they are used?”

“Pete-”

“And her labs are always spotless. Always! Immaculate!”

“Peter!”

The teen’s jaw snapped shut, his eyes widening. His muscles tensed as he shrank under Mr. Stark’s gaze. The man sighed and crouched down, arms resting on his knees.

“Pete, listen to me.” Mr. Stark gently moved a hand slightly closer to the boy. “You don’t have to overanalyze this. You’re getting all worked up about something that I guarantee is not as big a deal as you think it is.”

Peter trembled a little, his mouth opening and closing without anything coming out. Mr. Stark gingerly placed his hand on top of Peter’s, removing the scrubbing brush from the teen’s grip.

“Shuri has been down here before, remember? She made a bigger mess than you, me, and Bruce combined.”

Peter chuckled slightly, a tear streaking down his cheek. Mr. Stark sat on the floor beside the kid and wrapped and arm around him.

“Do you remember when she was trying to make a vibranium-platinum alloy and melted the Mark LXXIV?”

Peter nodded. “I just wanted everything to be perfect.” He leaned into Mr. Stark’s shoulder. “She came here voluntarily over her birthday, and even though I know she doesn’t want to make a big deal about it, I wanted something to be special.”

Tony froze. Shuri’s birthday was happening while they were in the Tower? How had he not known? The girl had done so much for himself and for Peter, there was no way on earth that he was going to let her special day go unnoticed.

“Her birthday?”

“Yeah, it’s today. She wanted to spend it in the labs, so I wanted to make the labs special.”

Tony rubbed his face with his free hand. He needed to think of something to do for the girl genius. But first, he needed coffee.

“Okay, kiddo. I’m going to pour myself some coffee, then I can help you with the lab purge – and keep you from going overboard.”

“Wh-wh-wha-wh-wh-wha-wh-what?” Peter spluttered. “I wasn’t going overboard!”

“Says the guy who was scrubbing the permanently stained floors with a toothbrush.”

“It wasn’t a toothbrush.”

Mr. Stark raised his eyebrow. “Might as well have been with the way you were scrubbing with it.” He mimed going over an infinitesimally small area until Peter threw the brush at his head.

“Get your coffee and leave me be.”

Mr. Stark raised his hands in surrender and walked over to his red coffee pot. Pulling the pot out and taking off the lid, he returned to where Peter was sitting and took a drink.

“So, Pete, where are we going to start?”

“Giving me my coffee pot?”

“No way, Underoos. You get one cup. One.”

“Half a pot?”

“Half a cup?”

Peter sighed. “One cup.”

Mr. Stark nodded and smirked as Peter poured more creamer into his cup than coffee. The teen chugged for a few seconds until Mr. Stark looked away, then Pete poured another splash of coffee into his cup. Mr. Stark laughed quietly at the sound, but said nothing. The two began to work in a comfortable silence, preparing the labs for the imminent arrival of the princess of Wakanda.

“What on earth is going on down here?”

Peter looked up from where he was polishing the tabletop to see Bruce standing in the doorway in confusion. Rubbing the back of his neck, Peter tried to explain, but only succeeded in stuttering out nonsense. Bruce raised an eyebrow at the tongue-tied kid until Mr. Stark stepped in.

“Shuri’s birthday is today. The kid just wanted to have the labs clean for her.”

Bruce raised both his eyebrows at Tony. The man practically volunteered to parent every person without a father, and he was going to let the girl off without making a big deal over her birthday? Bruce didn’t believe it.

Tony, seeing the doubt behind Bruce’s eyes, narrowed his gaze in a warning. “Pete said she didn’t want to make a big deal about it.”

Aka, Tony couldn’t say anything about his plans in front of Peter.

Bruce rolled his eyes. Tony was being overly dramatic, as always. Bruce just shrugged it off and moved on to the coffee.

“Whatever. It’s almost eight, and if I remember right, Shuri said that was when she’d be down.”

“What!”

Bruce and Mr. Stark watched in amusement as Peter started running around the labs, desperately trying to finish cleaning the room and pick up after himself at the same time.

“Princess Shuri is on her way.”

Peter squawked at FRIDAY’s warning.

“Ten seconds until her arrival.”

“Five.”

“Four.”

“Three.”

“Two.”

“One.”

The elevator doors dinged and opened as Pete skidded to a halt beside his workbench, casually leaning against it as if he wasn’t out of breath. Shuri stepped out of the elevator and looked straight at Peter, smirking at his heaving chest.

“Been doing some exercises, Parker?”

Peter spluttered, trying to offer up some form of an excuse until Mr. Stark stepped in.

“Coffee, Shuri?”

“No thanks. I have enough energy from my ideas. Speaking of…” she walked over to Peter talking non-stop about her plans for integrating her kinetic absorption technology into Peter’s webs.

Mr. Stark smiled until he heard exactly what they were talking about. “Won’t that be difficult if not impossible? We are talking about his webs, right? That’s a strand, not a suit or some such thing.”

“Exactly.” Shuri grinned. “That’s why we’re developing a new type of web that will encase the victim before releasing the energy inside of the web cocoon.”

Peter was bouncing on the balls of his feet. “It’s going to be so cool!”

The two teens turned back to their work as Tony and Bruce exchanged knowing smiles. The energy of a new idea had been known to sweep the two older scientists away from time to time, and it was refreshing to see a new generation as eager to learn, test, and build as they were. Tony just prayed that Pete and Shuri would never have a failure as big as Ultron was for himself and Bruce, but mostly himself.

Another couple of hours went by in a blur of excitement until the teens’ new toy was ready for testing. Peter finished programming the chemical formula into his web shooters as Shuri prepared the test dummy.

“Alright, Pete!” Shuri cried, stepping a safe distance away from the target. “Ready, aim, FIRE!”

Peter shot the new web combo at the dummy with a half-jump back.

THWIP

The web fully left the shooter and expanded into a net in midair. The net whistled until it hit the target, wrapping itself around the dense, platinum figure. Glowing purple at impact, the web shuddered as it released the energy it had accumulated into the figure. Shuri stepped forward, gently unwrapping the semi-sticky web to reveal the test dummy.

The dummy was one of the ones that was designed to survive anything but one of Tony’s repulsor blasts. After the energy pulse, its head had completely caved in, along with all of its limbs. The torso was crumpled and majorly dented. To say the occupants of the lab were shocked would be an understatement. Particularly since a tour group had entered just as the test was about to begin.

Peter, unaware of the high school field trip group that was staring at him from the doorway, ran over to Shuri. “So, I think we need to make a less lethal combination. That one was definitely a keeper, but I would prefer to not have everyone hit with this end up dead.”

Shuri nodded and was about to reply when she saw the open mouths behind Peter. “Hey, Pete? We’ve got an audience.”

“Who? Mrs. Stark? Cap? Nat? Oh, please tell me it’s Nat. That would be so awesome. I bet it’s Mrs. Stark, though. Probably lunch time by now.”

Shuri just nodded her head towards the door. Peter glanced over his shoulder only to do a double take. There in the door way was everyone from his class except for the decathlon team regulars. Which meant-

“What are you doing here, Parker?”

Peter sighed. At least Mr. Stark’s presence made Flash monitor his words. How had he forgotten that this field trip was today?

“Well, Flash, in case you haven’t been listening to the thing you’ve been mocking for the last year, I have an internship here.”

“Hey, Pete,” Mr. Stark interrupted. “Who are these people?”

“This is my class. Well, those who aren’t on the decathlon team. The decathlon team takes a lot of field trips, so they arranged one for everyone else. Though, Flash made such a big deal about it they let the decathlon alternates go as well.” Peter gestured back and forth between his class and his mentor. “Guys, this is Mr. Stark, in case you couldn’t tell. Also, this is Dr. Bruce Banner and Princess Shuri of Wakanda.”

Mr. Stark smiled at the class as the other two nodded. “So, I’m sure you’re all brimming with questions. We shall answer,” he thought for a moment before continuing, “five questions before you must continue with your tour and allow us to continue with our work.”

Hands flew in the air, and Mr. Stark nodded at Peter, allowing the teen to take the reins. Peter smiled at Mr. Stark before pointing at someone in the back.

“How often do you come to the tower?”

Peter shrugged. “Depends on the week. Most weekends I’m here, though there are some exceptions. Sometimes I come during the week, but that’s a little more limited.”

“What do you get to work on?”

“I’m usually helping with upgrading the Avengers’ gear, though I have plenty of time to work on my own pet projects as well.”

“Do you know the Avengers personally?”

“Sure do. They come down here fairly often to see what progress I’ve made.” Pete pointed at someone in the middle.

“Who’s your favorite Avenger?”

“I’d have to say Iron Man.” Peter made sure not to turn around, but he knew Mr. Stark would be beaming with pride.

“What were you working on when we came in?”

“Shuri and I are trying to upgrade Spiderman’s tech by incorporating Wakandan tech into his gear.” Pete’s eyes lit up as he began to explain, though Mr. Stark’s hand on his shoulder soon reminded him that his class was bored by the technical stuff. “Basically, we’re making it so Spiderman’s webs can release an energy pulse when wrapped around someone.”

Mr. Stark smoothly cut in. “Alright, everyone. That’s all for today. Enjoy the rest of your tour, and stay in school.”

“Hey!” Flash cried, furious at being ignored. “How on earth did Pe-ter Parker get an internship here?”

Mr. Stark said nothing, gesturing for the class to leave. However, Eugene “Flash” Thompson was not known for quitting so easily.

“Why did you hire Pen-”

Peter winced as Flash hollered out his crude phrase of choice. After trying so hard for so long to hide the bullying issue from Mr. Stark, all of Peter’s hard work was about to come crashing down around his ears. Sure enough, Mr. Stark held a hand up, stopping the tour guide in her tracks, and turned back to the group, his voice dangerously low.

“What did you just say?”

Flash, for once in his life, did the wise thing and kept his mouth shut.

“What is your name?”

Flash tried to blend in with the rest of the class, though they were in no way aiding his attempts.

“Peter?”

The teen sighed. “That’s Eugene Thompson, better known as Flash.”

Turning away from the scene, Peter desperately tried to return to his project with Shuri. Shuri, on the other hand, was enjoying the scene a little too much. Peter glanced around, trying to find some way to escape the horror he knew waited in store. Bruce, seeing the boy’s distress, waved him into the corner of the lab.

“We can hide out over here,” Bruce said quietly. “I’ve been working on an energy juice for you, Steve, and Bucky, so if you’re willing to help out,”

Peter nodded before the doctor could get out the rest of his sentence. The two turned to Bruce’s solution, though Mr. Stark’s conversation could not be ignored.

“Flash. Something tells me that there’s a reason I haven’t heard your name before today, and I have a pretty good idea why.”

“I’m sure you’ve heard of me, sir. I’ve applied here for an internship before.”

“I don’t look through internship applications or applications of any other kind. I was referring to the fact that Peter hasn’t mentioned you.”

“I don’t see why he wouldn’t. We’re close.”

Peter could hear Mr. Stark’s eyebrows raising.

“Close enough to call each other crass names as a joke?”

Flash said nothing in return, but Peter was sure the bully was desperately trying to cling to his lie.

“Hey, Pete,” Mr. Stark called. “You know this guy well?”

“Sure,” Peter called before dropping his voice. “After constant verbal and occasional physical abuse day after day at school, yeah I know him pretty well.”

Bruce shot Peter a worried look, but didn’t say anything after receiving a death glare.

“See? I told you.” Flash gloated before remembering who he was talking to. “Mr. Stark. Sir.”

“Pete, by any chance would you know him well because he makes your life miserable?”

Tony took Peter’s silence as an affirmation and permission to continue.

“Insulting my _personal_ intern is one thing, but I think it goes a little beyond words, don’t you, Peter.”

The room was silent. Shuri had quietly begun filming at some point. Bruce was wincing at Peter’s deathly pale face. The tour guide had long since ushered the rest of the class into the elevator that FRIDAY was keeping open. The entire lab was focused on the standoff between the billionaire and the school bully.

“Well, Mr. Thompson? Do you have anything to say for yourself?”

Flash shook his head, trying to hide the shaking of his hands.

“Then get out of my tower. Your class may finish their tour, but you will leave immediately. You are not welcome back here again, and if I ever hear of you bullying Peter ever again you best believe I will rain hellfire and brimstone upon you. Now go.”

Flash turned and fled into the elevator, desperate to escape.

As soon as everyone was gone, Shuri let out a pent-up gasp. “That was savage. You tore that kid to shreds, Tony.”

Mr. Stark ignored her and her camera. “Hey, Underoos, are you okay?”

Peter had his hands braced against Bruce’s lab table, trying with all his might not to pass out.

“Peter? Pete?”

The teen looked up into his mentor’s face.

“Is everything alright? You’re okay. He won’t mess with you anymore.”

“That’s where you’re wrong. He’s going to make my life a living hell from here on out – even worse than before.”

Tony watched as Peter’s face fell. Had he really made things worse for the boy?

“It started when my parents died, though it didn’t get bad until Uncle Ben died.” Peter sniffed, crumpling to the ground. “Just an orphan. Poor Puny Parker.” He seemed to have forgotten where he was and that there were people around. “Who would want me around? My parents were probably glad when they realized they were dead. Uncle Ben too. Aunt May got the second job to avoid me more. They never asked for me.” He took a shuddering breath, his voice hitching and lowering to where it was nearly undiscernible. “The world would be better off without me.”

Tony’s heart broke at hearing the kid’s – _his_ kid’s words. Clearly this Flash’s words had been coming for so long that Peter had begun to internalize them.

“No, Pete. No. I’m here. I want you around.” Tony reached out to cup Peter’s chin. “I need you in this world. I don’t know how I would manage without you.”

Peter looked up into his mentor’s eyes before breaking down into tears. Clambering unsteadily to his feet, Pete fled from the lab.

Shuri stood frozen, her video forgotten. Bruce looked close to tears himself. Both of them looked at Tony. The poor man was still crouching on the floor, looking where Peter had fled. His mind had been thrown back to the pits of hell he had crawled through in his life. Knowing that his kid had been fighting through them as well broke Tony’s heart. However, the worst part was that Tony hadn’t known. He had no idea how far Peter had been dragged into the depths. He had no idea how Peter had been coping with the pain of the psychological scars. All he knew was that he had to help his kid. Tony had to be there for Peter.

Peter had locked himself in his bathroom after he fled to the penthouse. He had never had an _episode_ in front of anyone, much less anyone in a – NOT parental – guardianship position over him.

_Get control of yourself, Parker._

Peter dashed at his eyes, glaring at his reflection.

_Worthless._

He growled.

_You can’t even keep your emotions under control, how do you expect to do anything else well?_

Now was not the time to be having such intrusive thoughts.

_Intrusive? Now, Peter, I thought we were better friends than that._

Why couldn’t he stop the voice in his head? Why did he have to lose control in front of Mr. Stark, of all people?

_You never had control in the first place._

Mr. Stark would never be able to look at him again without seeing that _episode_.

 _Now you’re_ really _a charity case to him. Why else would he want to keep you after_ that _?_

“Peter?”

_He’s here to see if there’s anything worth keeping._

“Peter, are you okay?

_He’s going to kick you out of the tower._

“Peter, you need to answer me.”

_He’s going to kick you out of his life._

“Peter, I will break down this door if you don’t respond.”

_He’s going to kill you – unless you do it first…_

“Peter!”

Tony blasted the door with his repulsor and rushed into the bathroom. The teen was staring into his own reflection, eyes red-rimmed and arms shaking as they attempted to brace him against the counter. When he saw Tony in the mirror, Peter jerked upright and forced a smile out.

“I’m alright, Mr. Stark.”

_Sure you are._

Peter shook his head and tried to push past Mr. Stark. If he could make it outside, he could activate his suit and flee.

_Because that will work._

Shut up. Just shut up. It has to work.

_Hmm. Let me know how that goes for you._

Tony easily caught Peter and lifted him off his feet.

_Just as successful as your life._

Gently setting the teen on the floor, Tony knelt beside him. “Pete, what’s going on?”

_Don’t tell him. He’ll run away like everyone else._

Tony sighed and sat beside Peter. “You know I deal with PTSD and depression on a daily basis, right?”

“You never show any of it.”

_Which is why you’re weak – you are showing it._

“I’ve had to learn how to cope. Do you have any idea how many nights Pepper has had to wake me from a nightmare only to get a black eye? Do you have any idea how many times I have come this close to taking my own life?” Tony pinched his fingers together. “Did you know that the cocky and arrogant attitude I used to flaunt around constantly was a defensive mechanism?”

Peter shook his head.

_Charity case._

“Do you want to know how I’ve improved?”

Peter nodded.

“I spoke up. I found someone I could trust, and I got help.”

Peter looked down.

“And I want to help you, but I can’t do that if you don’t talk to me.”

_That’s a bad idea._

“That’s a bad idea.”

Tony furrowed his brow. “And why is that?”

_He can’t handle it. He wouldn’t accept you._

“You shouldn’t have to deal with my issues.”

“But I want to. You’re practically my kid. It’s part and parcel of the job.”

Peter’s eyes widened.

_That’s just his pity card._

“Your – your kid?”

Tony leaned back, rubbing the back of his neck. “Too far?”

“No! No. It’s just, well, every father-figure I have…”

 _Dies. Congratulations. You just signed_ the _Tony Stark’s death warrant._

“Trust me, kid. I’ve been in plenty of death-defying situations. I don’t think my time will be up any time soon. Now, enough avoiding. What’s wrong.”

Peter sighed. “Well, you know about Flash’s bullying.”

“Mm-hmm.”

_Don’t do it._

“Well, somehow a part of me started believing it.”

_You’re going to regret it._

“And now I have this voice in my head that repeats what Flash says and goes beyond it.”

_Who said you could bring me into this?_

Peter sniffed. “I don’t know what to do, and now you’re going to leave me just like everyone else, and I’ll be all alone with this voice, and it will gloat about being right, and-”

“Hey,” Tony interrupted Peter’s rambling. “I’m not going anywhere. We’re going to work through this together.”

_He’s lying._

“Promise?”

_Charity case._

“Promise, Pete. I’m not going to let my kid down.”

Peter smiled and leaned into Tony. The voice was silent. Somewhere in his gut, despite everything the voice had said otherwise, Peter knew that his mentor/father-figure would be there for him.

“Thanks, dad.”


End file.
